WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) today secured a commitment from U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan to review and work with the State of New Jersey to improve the state's federally funded Superstorm Sandy recovery programs. The State is preparing to submit to HUD for review its plan to administer the second tranche of federal aid for Superstorm Sandy victims.

"We need strong oversight of this recovery program," said Sen. Menendez. "Looking forward, HUD needs to put appropriate safeguards in place to ensure the next disbursement of federal aid has clear standards that are streamlined, transparent and meet best practices in order to prevent a repeat of the gross mismanagement by the state's contractor, HGI."

Video of Menendez and Donovan discussing HGI's role.

Sec. Donovan testified before the Senate Banking Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation and Community Development chaired by Sen. Menendez. He made it clear that federal requirements are not a major factor slowing down the recovery and that the state could choose to speed up the process immediately.

"HUD specified that rebuilding can commence once the environmental and historical reviews are completed, which is currently taking two to six weeks-not months," the Senator said. "What I heard from the Secretary is that the state is free to front-load those assessments and then simultaneously verify the Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, Elevation and Mitigation (RREM) Program application while residents work to get their lives back."

Video of Sec. Donovan's explaining how to expedite rebuilding.

Prior to the hearing, Sen. Menendez heard numerous complaints from Spanish-speaking residents who were having trouble accessing recovery programs in person or via the State's Spanish website, including a resident of Newark's Ironbound who could not find a Spanish-speaking employee to help him at a local housing recovery center.The Senator confirmed that HUD has launched an investigation into these complaints and is also looking closely at the disproportionate rejection rates of racial and ethnic minorities to ensure all Sandy victims have equal access to recovery programs, as required by federal law.

Video of Sec. Donovan addressing language access problems

Also testifying today were: Belmar Mayor Matt Doherty; Dr. Janice Fine, Rutgers University Professor of Labor Studies and Employment Relations; and Adam Gordon, Staff Attorney, Fair Share Housing Center.

Sen. Menendez promised to continually follow-up with HUD to ensure the problems that have plagued New Jersey's recovery are fixed.

"Anyone who has been waiting 17 months since Sandy struck to repair their home doesn't care about the process," the Senator insisted. "They just want the issues resolved and their lives back to normal."

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